“I condemn the killing of Hernán Cruz Barnica,” the Director-General said. “Using guns to silence journalists is a crime against the victims and against society as a whole. It is particularly poignant to see a journalist dedicated to the promotion of human rights pay with his life for exercising the basic human right of freedom of expression. I call on the authorities to make sure that those responsible for this murder are brought to justice.”

The body of Hernán Cruz Barnica, 52, was found near Dulce Nombre, a town in the western department of Copán. He had been shot three times.

Cruz hosted a daily programme about human rights, Otro Nivel, for a community radio, Opoa, la Voz de la Esperanza, in San Juan de Opoa, also in the west of the country.

This is the second time the Director-General has condemned the killing of a journalist in Honduras this year. Her statements are to be found on the dedicated webpage, UNESCO condemns the killing of journalists.

UNESCO is the United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom. Article 1 of its Constitution requires the Organization to “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.” To realize this the Organization is requested to “collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image…”